If you've been thinking of starting a business, you may want to headquarter it in Houston. The largest city in Texas recently topped Kiplinger's list of great cities for starting a business. Read on for five reasons Houston is the next big city for small businesses.
- Business start-up costs are low. Texas has no state personal income tax, according to Kiplinger, and companies with $10 million or less in total revenue have a franchise tax rate of 0.575 percent.
- There's plenty of funding potential. Investors have committed over $130.8 million in venture capital to Houston businesses. The city is also home to deep-pocketed startup incubators like the Houston Tech Center, Capital Factory and Rice Alliance.
- Office space is inexpensive. Houston has no zoning laws, making it far simpler to secure a headquarters for your brand-new business. If you're not ready to spring for a dedicated office, Houston is also home to several coworking spaces like the Caroline Collective, City Vue and DigiCafe.
- The cost of living is attractive. Kiplinger's cost-of-living score for the self-employed in Houston is 91.2, which is under the national average of 100. This score uses data from the Council for Community and Economic Research.
- You're in good company. Houston has an average of 3.7 patents per 10,000 residents — significantly more than the national average of 1.8. Some 81,114 small businesses are already headquartered there, which means that entrepreneurs have plenty of opportunities to network at after-hours events.
As a bonus, here are the PayScale pay trends for the Houston metropolitan area:
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Compensation Data Provided by PayScale, Inc.
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